Daxue Park, Downtown Taipei - Grassy Area to Play

Wandering around the alleys and lanes of Da An area, I came across this quaint park. At first, I thought it was just a community garden, but I discovered the park has a lovely grassy area that would be make a great spot for a children's birthday party. It is sheltered by trees, accompanied by a garden, and also features a historic waterway that has been restored.

Situated right next to Xinhai Road, there was roadside parking right by the park entrance. There is a more traditional kind of playground closer to the road. Walk down the lane about 100 metres to enter this other section.

The more traditional park right on the sidewalk.

Just down the lane, to the left of the first park.

What's behind these trees?...

A nice grassy space with a wooden walkway and seating.

Trit trot, trit trot on my bridge!

There is a large area of plants being cared for; vegetables and flowers.

This drain was first laid in 1735! It was used for horticulture for 250 years before going out of operation in 1984. Now, it is home to carp and turtles.

This turtle was enjoying some sun until I disturbed it.

I think this would have been a great park for us to use when the children were younger as a birthday party spot. Unfortunately, I didn't see any toilet facilities, which would make it less convenient than say Daan Park, but it is still quite lovely.

Park information in Chinese here.
Google map here.
Address: Daxue Park, 溫州街46巷 Wen-Chou Street, Lane 46
Public transport: Taipower Building Station Exit 5 捷運路線:搭松山新店線至台電大樓捷運站5號出口，
Buses: 208區、236區、251區、530、671、673、棕BR11、棕BR12、棕BR22、綠GR11、綠GR13至溫州街口 to Wen-Chou Street Intersection

Hill Walk, Muzha to Jingmei or Jingmei to Muzha

If you have energetic children in need of a quick energy burn, consider this walk that goes from Yongjian Elementary School on Muzha Road to Jingmei, giving some fantastic views and quaint, very local pit stops along the way. There are lots of stairs and a couple of spots where you would watch your child carefully, because the banks are steep and there is no fence. But overall it is the kind of walk we would take our children on. My son walked half-way and back when he was about four years old. The walk takes about an hour from end to end.

I started my walk on the Yongjian Elementary School side, so my photos show the paths from that direction. You can take a bus to the Yongjian Elementary School Bus Stop. Buses 253, 294, 647, 660, 666, 671, 915, 933 BR12, BR22 and BR6 all stop here. Chinese: 永建國小

This is the entrance to the Muzha end of the walk.

The elementary school next to the walk.

Head up the steps.

There are sections that are flat and sections that have stairs. Sometimes, there are paths that go off the main track, but to get to Jingmei, just head up the top of the hill and then down the other side. You will be rewarded with some great views on the way.

The walk down from the peak is really lovely. Depending on the time of day, you will see different kinds of people. I did the walk for the photos at 7am, so there were groups doing stretches and hula hooping.

On the Jingmei end, you will come to a temple that has steps down to the road. You come out at 

Address: 116台北市文山區景興路293號

The Jingmei Market, Uniqlo, Jingmei MRT Station are all within walking distance.